Teachers and parents: web resources relating to early maps
This page was created on 18 March 2002 and updated thereafter
There are numerous sites offering links for teachers, on the
one hand, or for maps on the other. Since there does not seem to
be any site that brings together (for the benefit of teachers or parents)
web-based educational materials relating to the history of maps, a
systematic search was carried out on the web. No responsibility for the
content of the sites linked below can be taken by the author of this page
(who has no experience of teaching).
'Latitude' (a
marvellous resource by Patricia Seed, with sections, besides 'maps', on:
beacons, coastal navigation, compass roses, latitude and longitude,
ships, etc.)
'Making Sense of
Maps' ("a place for students and teachers to begin working with maps
as historical evidence...an overview of the history of maps and how
historians use them, a breakdown of the elements of a map, tips on what
questions to ask when analyzing maps", with examples taken from Illinois
and Pittsburgh - David Stephens, Youngstown State University)
'Maps'
(historical essay (broken into short sections), assisting students to understand early maps, by Joni Seager,
University of Vermont, for 'History Matters', George Mason University)
Outreach. Yolanda Theunissen, 'Developing and Promoting Outreach Services for Elementary and Middle Schools: Case
Study of a Rare Map Library at a Public University', Journal of Map and Geography Libraries 3, no. 2 [June 14,
2007]: 5-22 [available via subscription]. See also comments
on Theunissen's presentation to the RBMS Seminar 'Teaching and Outreach in Special Collections' (25 June 2008).
’Tutorial: History of Cartography’ (illustrated notes, arranged in eight chronological
chapters, with ‘Auxiliary Studies’ and (to follow) ‘In depth studies’, available also in
Czech, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Slovakian, Spanish and Russian - University
of Southern Maine (George S. Carhart); Eötvös Loránd Universität, Budapest (Zsolt Török);
Universität Passau (Thomas Frenz))
'Zoom
into Maps' ('Maps help us make sense of our world'; 'Analyzing a
Map'; 'What can be learned from historic maps?' - introductory texts
accompanying the Library of Congress's 'American Memory' site,
illustrated with high resolution MrSID images)
These are offered without comment as to their quality. Entering the
ISBN into a search engine, or Amazon.com
[just select 'Books' and copy the ISBN into the search box without dashes or
spaces], should retrieve details about the book concerned.
Alternatively, try Maps &
Cartography -- Children / K-12 Level (a listing of recent books, by
Jack Mount).
Exploring and Mapping the American West (Cornerstones of
Freedom) by Judy Alter. Children's Press, 2001. ISBN: 051621599X. 32 pages; ages 9-12
Four titles by Walter Oleksy: Mapping the World; Mapping the Seas; Mapping the Skies; Maps in History. Franklin Watts, 2002-2003 (Watts Library). Respective ISBNs: 0531166368; 0531120309; 0531120317; 0531166333. Each 64 pages; ages 9-12
How Maps Are Made by Martyn Bramwell. Lerner Publishing
Group, 1997 (Maps and Mapmakers series). ISBN: 0822529203. 48
pages; ages 9-11
How to Draw Maps by E. Fischel. Usborne Publishing, 2001.
ISBN: 0746046588. 24 pages (including some map history); Grade 4-7
How We Learned The Earth Is Round by Patricia Lauber and Megan Lloyd. Harper-Collins, 1992. ISBN: 0-06-445109-7.
32 pages, Grades 2-4.
Mapping the World by Sylvia A. Johnson. Atheneum Books for
Young Readers, 1999. ISBN: 0689818130. 32 pages; ages 8-12
Maps and Globes by Jack Knowlton (illustrated by Harriett
Barton). HarperCollins Children's Books, 1986 (reprinted). ISBN:
0064460495. 42 pages; ages 7-10
The road to there: mapmakers and their stories by Val Ross. Tundra Books Inc., September 2003. ISBN 0-88776-621-8. 160 pages; ages 11+
The Story of Maps and Navigation by Anita Ganeri. Oxford
University Press, 1997 (Signs of the Times series). ISBN:
0195214102. 32 pages; ages 8-10
There's a map on my lap by Trish Rabe, illustrated by Aristides Ruiz. Random
House, 2002 (The Cat in the Hat's Learning Library). ISBN: 0-375-81099-4. 48 pages;
beginning readers
Where Am I?: The Story of Maps and Navigation by A. G.
Smith.
Stoddart Kids, 1997. ISBN: 0773758364. 96 pages; ages 9-12
’Charting
Neptune's Realm: From Classical Mythology to Satellite Imagery’: Lessons Index (17
illustrated lessons, for use, variously, by Elementary/Middle School or High School, by Andy
Alley, Lenora Liebowitz, Hope McVane, Peter Rice and Gary Spring ; each divided into sections:
Learning Objectives, Background Information, Teacher Activities, Materials Required,
Presentation of Lesson, Glossary - related to an exhibition at the Osher Map Library and Smith
Center for Cartographic Education, University of Southern Maine, Portland, 2000-2001- Donald S.
Johnson, guest curator)
"Collection Connections". The Library of Congress's various sites include a wealth of
contextual detail, e.g. on the 'Collection Connections' pages - see the analysis on Images: Large General Sites. These are arranged under the headings:
U.S. History, Critical Thinking, and Arts & Humanities. They "provide activity ideas for using
the online collections to develop critical thinking skills. Part of The Learning Page, Collection
Connections feature teacher created lesson plans based on online primary resources at the
Library of Congress".
The Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) (the Advanced Search
option include ‘Guides - Classroom’ - 'Learner/Teacher’; you can search, e.g. for ‘maps history’
- US Institute of Education Sciences)
'Fighting
cholera with maps' (a Grade 5-8 lesson [with three handouts] based
around Dr John Snow and the 1854 cholera outbreak in London - National
Geographic Society). The '9-12'
version appears to be the same. [For more source material see the John Snow site])
‘Fra land til kort -
en udstilling om landmåling og korttegning’ ([From land to map: an exhibition on surveying
and mapmaking] with links to lesson materials, for different age groups, relating to the 2004-5
exhibition in the Steno Museet, Århus [in Danish])
'Historic Maps in K-12
Classrooms' ("a resource for teaching the geographic dimensions of American history",
featuring 19 high quality original maps, each "accompanied by lesson plans written for
different grade levels and designed to support a variety of social studies, history, and
geography curricula", and including referenced notes on, e.g., 'How to read historic
maps', as well as supplemental images and texts - Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the
History of Cartography, Newberry Library, Chicago). [The site was awarded a Geography
Excellence in Media Award for 2004 from the National Council for Geography Education.]
'Mapping History: an interactive exploration of maps through time' (a teaching kit,
featuring a number of unusual maps gathered together for the British Library's 2001 exhibition,
'Lie of the Land: the Secret Life of Maps', comprising explanation, selected illustrations and
questions for pupils - 'while some maps deliberately set out to deceive, others simply show a selective view and reflect only the
interests of the people who made them. This collection is a reminder that there is often more to a map than meets the eye')
Map
Skills for Children (K-4, with Teacher's Guide, three 23-minute DVDs, sub-titled
respectively, A History of Maps; Making & Reading Maps; Maps & Globes, published by
Schlessinger Media, 2004 - CLEARVUE & SVE)
A
Place in History: Tudor Exploration (an interactive site, with sections entitled
'Mapping the World', 'Navigation', etc. - National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London)
'Young
Navigators' (materials for Grades 4-12, focussing on five maps
[1424-1507] that illustrate the discovery of America - James Ford Bell
Library, University of Minnesota)
See also '2003 Everyday Maps Institute Participants Produce Map-Based Curriculum Materials for
Grades K-12', Mapline: a newsletter published by The Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the
History of Cartography at The Newberry Library [Chicago], Numbers 97-98, Spring 2004, pp.7-28.
The Newberry Library, Chicago will hold a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar for Elementary
and Secondary School Teachers,
'Developing cartographic literacy with historic maps', June 22-July 10, 2009.
Please
help to improve this section for others by proposing new links to Tony Campbell:
